Latest Eurasia Daily Monitor Articles
MOSCOW IS REMINDED THAT “WAR ON TERROR” IS NOT OVER
Unprecedented nation-wide preventive measures against a possible terrorist attack were introduced in Russia on Tuesday, January 16, on orders from Nikolai Patrushev, the head of the National Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAC). Transport networks were identified as the most probable target, so police checks and patrols on... MORE
RUSSIA MULLS NORTH KOREAN DEBT WRITE-OFF
As Moscow hinted at plans to forgive Pyongyang much of its Soviet-era debt, Russia's willingness to offer Kim Jong-Il some economic carrots may indicate the Kremlin's intention to play a bigger role in international efforts to defuse the controversy around the North Korean nuclear program.... MORE
KAZAKHSTAN OIL OUTPUT AND EXPORT DATA DRAMATIZE NEED FOR TRANS-CASPIAN OUTLETS
Amid growing concerns over Russia’s reliability as an energy supplier and its treatment of Western investments in the energy sector, Kazakhstan stands out for its reliability on both counts. However, Russian policy is geared to ensuring a decisive -- if covert -- say on Kazakhstan’s... MORE
KARS-AKHALKALAKI-TBILISI-BAKU RAIL PROJECT SOON TO ROLL FORWARD
Thanks in large measure to Azerbaijan’s rapidly growing economic strength, the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku (KATB) railroad-building project can soon become a reality. The project had stalled for more than a decade, due to a lack of funding for the Georgian stretch of the line. Now Azerbaijan is... MORE
REGIONAL LEADERS SEAL KARS-AKHALKALAKI-TBILISI-BAKU RAILWAY DEAL
Last Saturday, January 13, representatives from the governments of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey took a significant step forward in the realization of the Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku railway project, which will link Asia and Europe through the Caucasus. Representatives of three parties met in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi,... MORE
WARSAW BLOCKS EU-RUSSIAN NEGOTIATIONS ON COOPERATION PACT
The press has recently focused on Russia’s relations with the European Union over natural gas issues. But Moscow has been playing diplomatic hardball with former Warsaw Pact member Poland over meat imports. In response, since late 2006 Poland has blocked the initiation of talks on... MORE
BAKIYEV MANEUVERS TO STAY ON TOP IN KYRGYZSTAN
Last week Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev named former prime minister Felix Kulov to head the government again. This reappointment followed the Kyrgyz government’s resignation and the adoption of another new constitution in December 2006, the second in two months. If the parliament approves Kulov’s candidacy,... MORE
TASHKENT USES “DEMOCRACY CARROT” TO ENTICE WEST
On January 4 the Rand Corporation released a report on U.S. security assistance to Uzbekistan and Afghanistan from 2001 to 2005. The report concluded that, despite intense efforts, Washington’s assistance had no discernable effect on improving Uzbekistan’s performance in the areas of human rights, democratization,... MORE
SHAH-DENIZ GAS BUTTRESSING GEORGIA, AZERBAIJAN ECONOMICALLY AND POLITICALLY
At 10 pm local time on January 14, commercial production and the delivery flow of gas started at the first well of Azerbaijan’s giant offshore field Shah-Deniz, a BP-led project. In the afternoon of the following day, the first volumes of gas reached Georgia through... MORE
IRAN TAKES DELIVERY OF RUSSIAN TOR-M1 MISSILES
Yesterday, January 16, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov announced that Russia had completed the delivery of modern Tor-M1 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran. Ivanov insisted that the missiles were "100% defensive weapons" and that Russia did not violate any international agreements by dispatching the Tor-M1s. He... MORE